SA Heart Privacy Policy

SA Heart acknowledges that we collect personal information that is important to you, and that we have a responsibility to protect this private information. Our Privacy Policy, which is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, provides detail of how we do this.

1. The kinds of personal information that we collect

In order to provide the services we offer, we need to collect the following information from our patients:

Name

Gender

Address

Phone numbers

Date of Birth

Occupation

Medicare number

Pension card number

DVA or MAC details

Private health insurance details

Next of kin name and contact details

Family doctor’s name and address

Clinical information regarding our patients, in particular the condition(s) being assessed or managed

If you are visiting our website, we may also collect information about the type of browser, IP address, date and time of visit, view path, documents downloaded and referral site.

Due to the nature of the services we provide, it is impractical for us to provide services to an individual who wants to conceal their identity or use a pseudonym.

2. How and why we collect your information

We collect personal information from the Patient Information sheet, over the phone, in person at our reception desks and through medical records recorded during the provision of services.

We collect this personal information in order for our health practitioners to provide services related to cardiology.

We require several personal identifiers to ensure that the correct medical record within our system is accessed when you receive our services.

We also require this personal information to allow third party providers to make payment towards the services you receive.

We will also use the information to communicate with you.

We may access this information to determine whether you are eligible to be involved in a clinical trial or research. If clinical information were to be used as part of research, the information would be completely de-identified. If there is the potential for involvement in a clinical trial or research that requires identification, formal consent would be sought from you prior to use of any information.

We may also collect, use and exchange this information in other ways where permitted by the law.SA Heart does not collect any personal information that is not required in order for us to provide high quality and professional cardiology services.

SA Heart does not collect any personal information that is not required in order for us to provide high quality and professional cardiology services.

3. Keeping your information secure

Our patient information and medical records are stored electronically and any hard copy written information is destroyed using confidential waste.

Staff are required to read and sign our privacy policy. Staff are educated regarding the importance of privacy.

Buildings are secured with appropriate locks and alarms.

Any personal information shared with third parties that assist in the provision of our services, including any overseas transfers, are sent in a secure, encrypted format.

We are keen to ensure your personal information is accurate and up-to-date. If you would like to check that the personal information we have on record is accurate, please don’t hesitate to contact us. There is no charge for accessing your personal details.

Requests for copies of medical records should be made in writing and presented in person at our reception, with photo identification provided to assure privacy. Requests for copies of medical records can usually be provided but will be dealt with in keeping with the Freedom of Information Act. Reasonable charges may apply for copies of medical records to be provided, with the cost dependent on the time taken and complexity of the request.

5. Who we share personal information with

In order to provide our services, we need to share your information with various third parties:

Cardiologists at SA Heart are not employed by SA Heart, they are their own entities, and therefore legally your personal information is shared by these parties. It is necessary for our cardiologists to share information with each other to provide cover for leave and after hours cover, as well as to collaborate on management of certain patients, therefore all cardiologists operating within the SA Heart banner have access to all SA Heart patients’ personal details.

Personal information is shared with referring medical practitioners, and with your consent, to other health practitioners to whom referrals are made.

The vendor of our patient management system has access to personal information as there are certain technical aspects of this system that need to be outsourced. This third party provider is also bound by the Australian Privacy Principles.

Patient letters, usually sent to referring doctors and other health practitioners involved in your care, are typed in-house and through third party providers. The personal information shared includes your name, address, date of birth and medical information. Information sent to third party providers is sent securely using encryption. The third party providers are bound by either the Australian Privacy Principles or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in the USA and Canada (for services that may be performed in the USA, Canada, Philippines, Nepal or India). Where medical letters are typed overseas, systems are set-up using encryption with any data transfer and appropriate destruction of text and voice files is in place.

Personal information, including clinical information, may be provided to hospitals when admission is required or to contribute to your medical record at that provider.

Personal information is shared with Medicare, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, private health insurers and other third party providers in order to receive payment for provision of services.

Personal information limited to name, address, contact numbers and details of outstanding debt may be shared with debt collection agencies should outstanding debts not be settled in a timely manner.

Your personal information will not be provided to any third party for the purposes of direct marketing.

6. Making a privacy query, privacy complaint or to contact us regarding privacy issues.

If you have any queries we would be pleased to expand on the details of how we manage the privacy of your personal information. Please contact: